For slum kids in Mumbai, Super Uncle is their education superhero

At 73 hersquos undergone quite a few surgeries that have left him a little frail but for kids from various slums in Jogeshwari Feroze Ashraf is still Super Uncle Ashraf has spent the last two decades of his life filling the gaps in the teaching that takes place in municipal schools by conducting classes for students from various parts of Jogeshwari mdash especially those who couldnrsquot afford to pay for such classesOne man many hats Feroze Ashraf with some of his students in Jogeshwari He was also one of scriptwriters for the popular TV show Surabhi PicNikesh GauravToday many of Ashrafrsquos students have gone places thanks to his support mdash some have gone on to become teachers some are employed in banks and a couple of them have just earned their law degrees mdash and Ashraf could not be prouderFeroze AshrafldquoIt all started in 1997 with the children of my buildingrsquos watchman He told me that his daughter had failed in maths and I offered to teach his children Pretty soon the children of the buildingrsquos sweeper needed help so they joined in too By the next year I was conducting classes at my house for a bunch of 30odd kidsrdquo said Ashraf who still teaches children with the same gusto Some of his exstudents are also conducting similar free classes for slum kids in various parts of Jogeshwari ldquoThere are still many Urdumedium municipal schools which donrsquot have teachers for science and maths I try to fill this gapby sharing my knowledgerdquo Ashraf addedSacrificeAfter completing his BSc from an institute in Jharkhand Ashraf moved to Mumbai in 1965 and applied for a diploma in journalism from Bhavanrsquos College in Chowpatty After getting the diploma Ashraf started freelancing for newspapers like Navbharat Times Mahanagar and others in Delhi and Bhopal Ashraf was also one of the scriptwriters for the popular TV show Surabhi A collection of articles from his column mdash Pakistanama mdash from different papers was compiled into a book recentlyldquoI was involved with the media industry till about 1993 and then also with the trade union of a private firm in Mumbai but I realised I could do much more Many children were in need of a mentor so I quit my job and started fullfledged classes in 1997rdquo said Ashraf who has taught over 5000 children from slums ever sinceWhat started with only ten students from his neighbourhood soon burgeoned into a series of classes for boys and girls from all age groups Be it school students attending classes every day or college students seeking temporary help with some topics or subjects Ashrafrsquos door is always open for anyone in needldquoI might not be the best person to help the students with every subject so I also got some teachers involved in the process Many of my children canrsquot afford to buy books so they even get books from me I donrsquot want any student to be left out just because of financial constraintsrdquo he addedRecognitionAlong the way Ashraf got financial aid from various NGOs and schemes like Akshara Majli Rajiv Gandhi Foundation etc ldquoHelp came in small amounts but there was no constant source so I decided to start an NGO myself called Vikas Abhyaan Kendra which is funding the education of about 100150 children who are currently studying with merdquo he addedTaking his work into consideration the Observer Research Foundation ORF Mumbai recently made and released a documentary and booklet on Feroze Ashraf titled lsquoUncle mdash The school in himselfrsquo ldquoIrsquove been familiar with his work for the past decade and I thought it needed to be popularised among a wider audience both in India and abroadrdquo said Sudheendra Kulkarni chairman of ORFFilmmaker Mazhar Kamran worked on the documentary while people from the ORF wrote a booklet about Ashraf Both the documentary and booklet were released at a daylong seminar on improving Muslim girlsrsquo education that was held in the city recently ldquoThe documentary tells a moving story and has the potential to make an impact in the national and international circuitrdquo added Kulkarni Ashrafrsquos work however has already made its mark outside India as wellIn 2001 Ashrafrsquos work was recognised by UNICEF and the organisation invited him to Tokyo for a workshop on teaching techniques ldquoThatrsquoll remain a memorable experience for merdquo said AshrafNever say dieApart from teaching Ashraf is also busy with a book ldquoI might be a teacher to many but my love for writing will never fade Irsquom putting together a book talking about the Muslim community in various parts of the country their origin existence etcrdquo So was it a difficult decision to leave a proper paying job and take up teaching students for free ldquoMy family never had any inhibitions and always supported me Today all of us are proud of all the children who have studied under me and are doing very well for themselvesrdquo said Ashraf His wife currently works with the BMC daughter is an English professor in Thakur College and son is a media professionalldquoEven though Irsquom 73 just spending a few hours with these children takes me back to my younger days and as long as I can be of any help to them Irsquoll be at their servicerdquo said Ashraf